New witness running lightest Steem MIRA node in the town 🐭 @mysia
@mysia'a Genesis block number 35344589
@mysia is a witness!
The day 2019-08-07 at 13:08:57 was the moment when @mysia became true witness in the Steem network. At this time first successful block was produced. It was second attempt to generate one. First failed because of wrong configuration, so was missed - I believe it was wrong swap RAM settings for MIRA. From now I hope every new will follow a success.
Experimental light node
Idea of runing own witness riddled in my head for many months. High hardware requirements blocked the way to do so. Until MIRA came. Multi Index RocksDB Adapter allows to move blockchain real time calculations from RAM memory to disk drive - for a price of replaying time. After full replay, node runs in the speed of classic non-MIRA setting.
The goal of this experiment was to verify how low the hardware specifications can be to be able to run witness in the field. It is shocking that old PC can handle that!
Hardware specification
| Hardware | Specs |
|---|---|
| OS | Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS |
| CPU | Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4460 CPU @ 3.20GHz |
| SSD | Crucial 500 GB CT500MX500SSD1 |
| RAM | 2x Kingston 8GB DDR3 |
| Internet | LTE GSM |
| Location | Personal computer somewhere in Poland (EU) |
As You see, the toaster sits under $500. Below test prove that it is far over enough to do job. Eg. I don't need as much RAM. To be honest only 4GB RAM should be sufficient. CPU could be a little slower too. Even Intel i3 or Core2Duo should work. Look at Internet connection - it is not wired! Enough for a backup node.
My MIRA took 3 days to replay whole blockchain and start streaming blocks. It supports v0.21.0 Steem version.
htop system monitor. RAM usage grows to 2.7 GB in the peak when producing block
Plans
I plan to run this node as long as I will stay in Steem network. @mysia is not only a backup node to produce blocks. It is very helpful to keep in very touch with up to date blocks and newest transactions coming. I have to confess that node helps very much to my scripts (eg. curation challenges, Steemmonsters trading, some pretty block sniping etc.) This is far more valuable than just generating STEEMs as a witness.
Let's see how this all behave after HF21 arrive and SMTs come.
Somewhere in my mind there are plans to support #polish community in some way. It needs some time to develop. More will be clear after next hardfork and communities open.
Useful links
- https://github.com/steemit/steem - Steem master build source code. My node runs on a470bc2 commit.
- https://github.com/Someguy123/steem-docker/tree/mira - Steem docker images with some helpful tools
- https://github.com/steemit/condenser - Steem witness tool for newbies :p
- https://steem.chat/channel/witness - Steem.chat #witness channel
- https://steem.arcange.eu/witnesses - Steem witnesses real-time table comparison
Support
If You have any questions how to host Your own witness node like I did, feel free to ask under this post or via Steem.Chat https://steem.chat/direct/mys or via Discord @mys#4442
You can support my experimental node by voting for me (@mysia) at https://steemit.com/~witnesses page.
Alternative direct SteemConnect link is https://beta.steemconnect.com/sign/account-witness-proxy?proxy=mysia Thanks!
Core2Duo? Definately not, lower CPU will increase the replay time dramatically.
Also to save you time, you can predownload the block_log file and replay that instead of reindexing from scratch (if that's what you did).
You may find this witness table useful https://steemian.info/witnesses
Using above specification, replay took 3 days - with already downloaded full block_log.
I admit, lower CPU will increase that time a lot.
Excellent work! Demonstrating the ability to run Steem nodes on basic PCs is crucial for security and viability of Steem blockchain.
Posted using Partiko iOS
Nice! That's a huge improvement over what was considered base line for so long.
This is really interesting. I do wonder if I could do something similar a little down the track.
Well I look forward to following your experiment. You have my support!
Posted using Partiko iOS
I didn't realize you were running a witness. Great! You now have my vote and it will stay as long as you are not missing too many blocks.
That's great can you please help me to setup mine
Posted using Partiko Android
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Czy mowa o tym co było wspomniane ostatnio- transakcje które mają wpłynąć?Zastanawiam się, czy tak będzie?:)
Innymi słowy: podglądanie transakcji użytkowników zanim jeszcze uformują one blok. Ponadto natychmiastowy dostęp do ostatnich bloków Steem.
Any idea what the usage/cost per month in electricity is? Given the specs I imagine it can’t be too high
Posted using Partiko iOS
I also have thought about using my old pc to run a node. Now I know I can do it. Thanks.